Bark Hot Dogs Plots a Manhattan Location

Chef Joshua Sharkey successfully transformed the hot dog from sidewalk fare to gourmet eats with his Park Slope restaurant Bark Hot Dogs (474 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, 718-789-1939). And next year, Manhattanites will be able to sink their teeth into homemade pickle-topped dogs with the chef's new 155 Bleecker Street location. We talked to Sharkey, who gave us the details on the upcoming venture.

Why did you choose to open up the second branch of Bark on Bleecker Street?
Bark is a neighborhood restaurant. Greenwich Village has a very similar feel to Park Slope. You have a lot of people that live and work in the neighborhood. It has a very neighborhood feel, whereas a lot of other parts of Manhattan may not have as much of that. You also have the NYU community, which is huge.

To be honest, I really just love the location and the space. I used to live in Greenwich Village, so as soon as our broker showed me that space, I sort of fell in love. I try to look for real estate that looks like it could be Bark, and this space just screamed Bark to me.
We're really excited to be coming into Manhattan. I can't wait to have a new crowd to show Bark to. We have a really great community in Park Slope, so it will be cool to bring it to a whole other community.

Have you set an opening date?
I try not to ever give a date because you just never know with construction. The lease is signed, but it could be six months or it could be nine months. Hopefully it's less than that but I'm not really sure. It depends on how it all goes. Definitely sometime next year.

Is the menu going to stay the same?
I'm sure we will have some specials that are dedicated just to that area. In Park Slope, we have specials that are dedicated to Brooklyn. But yes, the core menu will always stay the same.

Are you sick of hot dogs at this point?
I don't eat them enough. When I first opened I was eating hot dogs almost every single day, but I quickly learned I needed to regiment my hot dog consumption.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story listed Brandon Gillis as an owner of Bark. Gillis left the company.